Homesteader Blues
Page 8
"Highland Light" Is the first of the MacGrough Clan series.
Gideon is a ward of the Master of the Croatia Temple belonging to the Knights Templar. The Knights escape execution and flee to Scotland. The master of the Temple strikes a bargain with Robert The Bruce. In exchange for safety, the eighteen men will marry into various clans in the Bruce faction. Ailene saw him entering the Abby and will have him and no other. Gideon has honored the Templar vows of chastity. With no knowledge of women, he and Ailene must learn together.
But Gideon owes his new King service. No matter how much he wishes to stay with his wife, he has a duty. Scotland is fighting for its life against England. At the same time, Gideon's new home is locked in a vicious internal struggle for power. Enemies are everywhere. The clan is in danger from all sides. The small bedroom they share is the only place where the young couple can find peace.
"Bare Wires"
The prequel to Wired For Sound follows Lori and Hamish as their lives slowly come together. Lori gets the break she needs when she comes to the attention of a gallery owner in Brighton, England. The small celebration she treats herself to turns into a disaster when she discovers a horrible truth about her lover.
Hamish and the band are finally poised to break into the entertainment industry. But two big problems stand in Bushmaster’s way; the bass player’s growing addiction and Vincent’s inflated view of his worth. Hamish must learn to manage his problems with insomnia while trying to keep Bushmaster together.
Two young people's lives will intersect one night in an art gallery in the resort town of Brighton.
"Wired For Sound"
Gideon and Ailene's descendant, Hamish MacGrough's story continues. It is 1988. The band Hamish co-founded, Bushmaster, is on its 4th album and 2nd US tour. Vince, the front man, and Hamish started the band as young college students. Now, Vince's nastiness has caused someone to exact the ultimate revenge, death.
After coercing Lori into marrying him, Hamish isn't sure how long she will stick around. His focus has been on keeping his wife happy and getting out of the band. With a recording date in Glasgow, a deadline and backers waiting, he needs to be back in Scotland. But in Los Angeles, everyone in the band is a suspect, as far as the police are concerned. Hamish's artist wife, Lori, may have been involved with Vincent before she met Hamish. Fearing she could be the murderer, Hamish must find the killer. But when he finds the murderer will he be forced to protect that person?
In a race to find the answer before the police, MacGrough has to use every resource he can, including the wife he fears may have had a hand in the murder.
Already burned by one man, can Lori trust her Scottish keyboard playing husband? Will their marriage survive this last gig?
"North by Northeast"
Hamish has what is called the sight in Scotland. With his wife, Lori, attending a gallery show, he suddenly finds the lament swirling about in his head. Half a world away, Hamish is terrified. Lori is gone, and there is no ransom note. The remnant of his old band, Bushmaster, comes together to help Hamish as he searches for Lori. The pursuit takes them from Seattle to Canada and into a ghost town North by Northeast of Seattle.
Lori has no idea why she is being held. Hamish is the musician, the famous one of the family and a partner in WarLoch Productions. What is the reasoning behind this? Will she live to find out?
"Rhythm and Blues"
Lurch Walker is the bad boy of the band Bushmaster. A rock solid, rhythm guitar player, he finally finds a woman he is ready to settle marry. Hamish's au pair and mutually adopted sister stakes a claim to Lurch’s heart. But Lurch Walker's past is about to put an end to his dreams of home and family. Lurch and Hamish must make a stand as those threatening Lurch have now threatened Hamish's family and his adopted sister.
"Family Knots"
Lori is recuperating from the birth of their third child. But things in the Glen are starting to take a decided otherworldly turn. Hamish suspects his oldest son, just a young boy, has a great deal more of the sight than he has.
Lori has a touch of post-partum depression and is not able to paint. Hamish's father's relatives have finally found him. Even worse; his cousin wants something from Hamish, which will require his leaving Lori and the Glen when he most needs to be there. It is a family knot of significant proportions.
"The Templar's Treasure"
As the MacGrough clan prepares to celebrate a milestone, chaos ensues. A 26-year-old secret is revealed; the father of a child exposed, a woman rescued and another stands up for the love she and her soul mate have shared for years. Lori and Hamish's 28th-year-anniversary celebration goes off the charts.
The MacGrough Glen is turning up the heat. One antique anniversary gift holds the key to the last of the Templar’s Treasure. And the supernatural talents of one of the clan lead to a discovery of another sort. More history of the Glen is about to reveal itself to the MacGrough's of the twenty-first century.
"The Twisted Laird"
Edan MacGrough is the last of the male line of the MacGrough's. Culloden has claimed the rest. His older half-brother, The MacGrough, has given him a duty, he is to take care of the women and children who are left. In particular, Edan is to watch over Rhona, the widow of his brother, who is pregnant. The children are all the clan has left, and MacGrough’s survival depends on keeping them alive.
Rhona hates Edan and always has. She will not make the commission given to Edan by his brother easy to accomplish.
Edan does not feel up to the task, as he has a lame leg, twisted due to an accident shortly after birth. The MacGrough, warned by the sight, of hardships to come, has trained his successor well. But nothing can prepare the young Laird for the grief and pain he must deal with. Not only is his leg twisted, but his heart and soul are, as well.